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Pros & Cons of Social Media Management Software

Social media dashboards are designed for easy management of multiple social media accounts. Tools such as HootSuite and Sprout Social allow users to schedule updates, monitor engagement and so much more. But just because you’ve scheduled two weeks’ worth of updates doesn’t mean your work is done. Here are some pros and cons of using social media management software tools.

Pro: Scheduling updates ahead of time is really convenient for a busy business owner’s hectic schedule. Con: Software tools don’t engage for you.

One of the great things about these tools is that you can upload multiple updates at one time and schedule them for a later date. This feature saves you from stopping once or twice or even more times a day to send out a tweet. But you’ll still have to check for engagement once in a while. This means managing replies, monitoring comments and responding to customers personally.

Writing back to customers in real-time serves as instant gratification, but it also has a long-term effect on your page as well. Posting statuses and having a back-and-forth with users helps your page look alive. Don’t let your account look like robots are running it—be approachable! Nurture your social media pages to develop an online presence and a thriving community.

Another reason not to rely on scheduling is that it isn’t conducive to spur-of-the-moment changes such as breaking news. Scheduling updates in bulk ahead of time doesn’t usually accommodate for events like emergency closings due to weather, so it’s in your best interest to have someone who monitors your accounts on a regular basis. This doesn’t mean constantly- notifications are your friend!

Pro: Many management tools provide statistics and analytics. Con: You have to know what they mean.

Social media management software often includes reports on account activity and growth. An advantage of social media publishing tools is that data (e.g. click through rate, reach) will be more accurate. For example, if you sometimes publish manually in addition to scheduling, analytics won’t be representative of all of your activity. But these reports won’t be helpful at all unless you can decode them and understand the results of your hard work. Important questions to ask include:

Do the number of clicks meet your goal?

Are you satisfied with the growth of your following/fan base?

If not, what can you do to get closer to your goal?

Testing is an important part of this process. To get better results, you may want to play with factors such as frequency of posts, time of day posts are published and the day(s) of the week you post.

Social media management tools don’t create content for you.

Neither pro nor con, this point simply means that you are in charge of your content strategy. After all, you know your audience best. Always keep them in mind when you’re coming up with content. Vary your types of posts so your page is dynamic. Your social media plan will be much more successful if you set practical goals for yourself. Create a realistic content schedule, keep it organized and track your progress to find out what works best for you!